A review of structural responses and design of offshore tubular structures subjected to ship impacts

Abstract

Over the past decades, the offshore oil and gas industry has developed rapidly. A large number of offshore structures, notably jacket and jack-up platforms, were constructed and installed worldwide. As they are often exposed to safety threats from impacts by visiting vessels and dropped objects, there has been a continuous interest in understanding the impact mechanics of tubular structures and proposing practical design standards to protect from collisions. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art with respect to the response dynamics and mechanics of offshore tubular structures subjected to mass impacts, covering material modelling, ship impact loading, energy absorption in the ship and platform, global and local responses of tubular structures, the residual strengths of damaged tubular members and design considerations to mitigate against ship impacts. A wealth of information is available in the literature, and recent findings and classical references, which have a wide influence, are prioritized. The collected information is compared and discussed. The findings in this paper will help understand the impact response of offshore tubular structures and assessment procedures, and provide useful indications for future research.